This beautifully photographed book by two French authors is a fascinating collection of DIY ideas. You can learn to make homemade versions of many French or French-inspired foods, ranging from easy (pesto, fresh sprouts, compound butters) to complex (almond brioche, flavored pastas and dry, cured sausage). There’s a wide range of topics, with chapters that cover breads, cheeses, charcuterie and preserved foods.

If you’ve ever wanted to make mascarpone or yogurt or orange marmalade from scratch, this book will show you how.

Most cookbooks churn out recipes that serve four or six, despite the fact that many of us — especially those of a certain age — live in smaller households. So the editors of America’s Test Kitchen have scaled down everything from pot roast to chili and lasagna into portions that serve two people. Cutting a recipe in half can get complicated, but they’ve done the math for us. There’s even a baking section that includes cookies in batches of 12 and miniature versions of cakes and pies.

This hefty book of 650 recipes is short on eye candy; most photos are a quarter-page or less. But it’s packed with good information, including notes on how to use dried herbs, how to choose and store fish, plus glossaries of many cooking ingredients, like sugars, cooking oils and chili peppers.

Leah Eskin’s book is part memoir and part recipes. Her delightful and funny “Home on the Range” column has run weekly in the Chicago Tribune for 10 years, with two Pulitzer Prize nominations; this is a collection of them. Each is a little story about her life, paired with a recipe. She makes chocolate chip cookies to fill the house with a comforting aroma on 9/11; there’s Emergency Pasta for a hectic school night. She creates a dessert soup with raspberries, wine and creme fraiche as the antidote for a strict diet, and whips up a big batch of risotto for a friend with a new baby.

Whether or not you try these recipes, you’ll find the book a heartwarming and entertaining read.

We’ve all had the sad experience of overcooking a dish. Peterson, author of 15 books and winner of seven James Beard Foundation Awards, reveals his method of detecting doneness for more than 85 challenging foods. He uses smell, look and feel.

For example, for simmered artichokes, he slides a metal skewer into the base to judge resistance (there should be a little resistance, like a baked potato). Pulling off a leaf at the base should include some flesh that comes off when you scrape it with your teeth. And finally, he says, artichokes are usually done “as soon as they start smelling up the kitchen.”

Peterson gives cooking steps and doneness clues for such diverse items as Porterhouse steak, whipped cream, brownies and cheese soufflé. This is a useful book, but think of it as a problem-solving appendix, since he doesn’t give the full recipes.

First published in 2002, this vegan bible is now revised and updated, with 50 new recipes. It has 500-plus pages without a single photo, so it’s a good bet that this is the most extensive collection of vegan recipes you can find. Robertson, a vegan herself, has written 20 other cookbooks.

The first of the book’s 20 chapters covers “vegan basics,” including health issues, egg and dairy substitutes and staples such as nuts and seeds. Other chapters are filled with recipes for soups, salads, sauces, burgers, breads, desserts, breakfast ideas and so on. There are many international recipes — Chickpeas Vindaloo, Kale Spanakopita and African Sweet Potato and Peanut Stew, to name a few.

This is a good resource for committed vegans as well as people who just want to add more meatless meals to their diets.

Heat the oil or water in a large pot over medium heat. Add the onion and cook until softened, about 5 minutes. Add the bell peppers, chili, sweet potato, cauliflower, garlic and ginger. Cook, stirring occasionally, until slightly softened, about 5 minutes.

Add the spices, herbs and salt and cook, stirring, for 1 minute. Stir in the tomatoes and their juice, chickpeas, vinegar and water and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to low, cover, and simmer until the vegetables are tender, about 15 minutes.

Uncover, stir in the peas, then taste and adjust the seasonings, if needed. Cook uncovered for 10 minutes longer to blend the flavors. If the stew is too thick, add a little more water.

Serve hot over rice.

Recipe from “Vegan Planet,” by Robin Robertson; Harvard Common Press.

Mascarpone

Makes about 14 ounces

2 cups heavy cream, preferably organic

2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice

Spoon the fresh cream into a heat-resistant container and put the container in a double-boiler. Heat it to a temperature of 176 degrees and then add the lemon juice. Stir the mixture continually for several minutes, until it thickens.

Put the cream into a mixing bowl and set it aside for six to 10 hours. A bit of whey will form on the surface during this time.

Spoon the mixture into a sieve or a drainer lined with a piece of cheesecloth, and let it drip in the refrigerator for a minimum of 12 hours.

Transfer the mascarpone to a jar with a lid. It will keep in the refrigerator for five days.

Sizzle: In a small sauce pan or skillet, stir together oil, red pepper, salt and garlic. Turn heat to medium and let garlic sizzle golden, stirring regularly, about 5 minutes.

Boil: Meanwhile, heat a large pot of salted water to boil pasta. Set a serving bowl over the pot for a few seconds to warm. Scrape garlic and oil mixture into the warm bowl; set aside. Cook pasta until tender but firm. Drain, none too thoroughly.